1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an infrared ray irradiation apparatus and infrared ray irradiation source used therein, and more specifically to an infrared ray irradiation apparatus and infrared ray irradiation source used therein for treating diseases, particularly malignant tumors, viral diseases by irradiating with far-infrared rays and raising the intracorporeal temperature.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, for malignant tumors such as cancers, sarcoma, etc., treatments including abscission by operations, irradiation of radioactive ray, administration of drugs, etc. have been given, but tumors which have metastasized are difficult to treat. Even those at the initial stages, operations and other methods may cause excessively large burdens to the human body, lower the immunological competence, and have problems of recurrence of tumors, occurrence of other diseases, etc. Viral diseases are unable to be treated unless suitable vaccine is present, and such is the state of things that there is no effective treatment when people are infected with AIDS virus, etc.
Because in recent years, it has been found that malignant tumors and viruses die out or are inactivated when heated to temperatures exceeding 41.degree. C., hyperthermia has attracted keen attention, and treatments for immersing patients in warm water or methods for irradiating with infrared rays have been developed, and infrared ray irradiation apparatus have begun to be fabricated.
However, since the treatment by immersing patients in warm water is achieved by thermal conduction from the human body surface, long time is required for heating the inside of human body, weighing too much on the human body. In addition, the infrared ray irradiation source used for infrared ray irradiation apparatus which have been fabricated and commercially available to date are said to be far infrared ray irradiation source, but in actuality contain a large volume of near infrared rays and has a construction in which the infrared ray irradiation source is formed in a single unit. Near infrared rays have large energy and provide low permeability to human body, and require long time to heat the depth of the human body, and patients must be anesthetized for treatment in order to prevent patients from moving. In addition, because the human body is exposed to infrared ray irradiation source containing near infrared rays for a long time, the energy applied to the body surface increases, and a problem of low-temperature burns occurs, and in order to reduce this problem, an expensive control means must be provided.
In view of the foregoing, it is the main object of this invention to provide an infrared ray irradiation apparatus and infrared ray irradiation source used therein which allow far infrared rays to reach the depth of the human body in a short time, enables optional setting of irradiation intensity for each portion of human body without generating low-temperature burns in patients, and can irradiate far infrared rays only.